Spark-arrester



(No Model.)

L. 0. HARTSOUGH.

SPARK ARREST-ER.

No. 369,934. Patented Sept. 13, 1887.

llNiTnn STATES ATENT Orrrcn.

LEMAN O. HARTSOUGH, OF GALION, OHIO.

SPARK-ARRESTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 369,934, dated September 13, 1887.

Application filed February 4, 1887. Serial No. 226,529. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEMAN O. HARTSOUGH, of Gallon, in the county of Crawford and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spark-Arresting Apparatus for Locomotive-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in spark-arresting apparatus for locomotive-engines, the same consisting, essentially, of hollow plugs inserted in the fire'box end of the respective boiler-tubes, said hollow plugs having each crossbars to arrest the sparks, the spaces between the cross-bars serving for the draft, to the end that a cheap and effective spark-arrester is thus had, and the sparks are retained in the firebox and consumed with the balance of the fuel.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is an elevation in longitudinal section of a portion of a locomotive-boiler, showing my improvements attached. Fig. 2 is an enlarged end elevation of my improved device. Fig. 3 is an elevation in section on the line :0 m, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan in section on the line g y, Fig. 2.

A represents the flue-sheet of the fire-box, and B the boiler tubes or fiues. The tubes are set and expanded in the usual manner, and afterward the fire-box end of the tubes are tapped out to form a fine screw-thread, perhaps for an inch, more or less, in length, along the tube.

0 are hollow plugs that are screw-threaded externally, and are screwed into the respective tubes. Each plug has a rim, 0, that when the plug is in position covers the end of the tube, and thus protects the latter from the excessive heat in the fire-box. The plug has cross-bars 0, usually three in number, and set at equal intervals. For new work these cross-bars are cast hollow, leaving a waterspace, 0, inside each bar. When the plugs are screwed into the tubes, the cross-bars are left in a vertical position, so that the waterspaces 0 register with small holes 12, made in the top and bottom of each tube 13 before the a mi l latter are set in the boiler. By this means a circulation of water is had through the crossbars of the plug that prevents the latter from being burned out. As it is difficult to make the holes I) in tubes that are already set in the boiler, the crossbars c for old work need not be cast hollow. Of course such plugs with crossbars made solid will burn out after a time; but they are cheap and easily replaced with new ones, and the protection that they give to the end of the tubes is worth the initial cost and the trouble of renewing them.

The sparks carried off by the sharp draft of a locomotive-engine are so much fuel wasted, and in the aggregate for each run of the enginesay for a hundred miles-is very great. The smaller sparks do not harm so far as setting fire to fences and other property along the railroad, as sparks, say, one-fourth of an inch in diameter, and even somewhat larger, become extinguished long before they reach the ground. The larger so-called sparksthat is, live coals in the condition of coke and consequently light, sometimes as large and even larger than hickory-nu.tsare the ones that do the damage. The various sparkarresters heretofore in use consist usually of screens or similar mechanism arranged to arrest the larger sparks and retain the same in the smoke-pipe and smoke-box. As a result, these latter become more or less clogged, and frequently at the end of the run many of the boiler-tubes are found to be filled with ashes and coals that have been retained therein by the clogging of the smokebox and pipe. With myimproved device the sparks or coals of any considerable size are arrested by the aforesaid crossbars, the spaces between which are usually only three-sixteenths of an inch in width, and remain in the fire-box and are consumed with the other fuel, leaving the smaller sparks, ashes, 820., that may be drawn through the cross-bars into the tube to-be carried away by the draft, and consequently leaving the flues,

smoke-box, and pipe unobstructed. Thelarge number of tubes used in a locomotive-boiler are for giving a large heatingsurface, usually a quarter or a third of the number being all that would be necessary for the draft. It will be seen, therefore, that my improved plugs with cross-bars, as aforesaid, do not obstruct the draft or reduce the heating-surface, but, instead, keep the latter clean and effective.

What I claim is 1. Spark-arresters for locomotive-engines, consisting of hollow plugs with cross-bars, the samebeing secured in the fire-box end of the respective boiler-tubes, substantially as set forth.

2. In a locomotive-engine, the combination, with the boiler-tubes, of hollow-plugs set in the fire-box end of the respective boiler-tubes, said plugs having cross-bars and a rim for protecting the end of the tubes, substantially as set forth.

3. In a locomotive-engine, the combination, with the boiler-tubes, of hollow-plugs set in the fire-box end of the respective boiler-tubes, said plugs having hollow crossbars, holes in the boiler-tubes made to register, respectively,

with the chambers of the cross-bars to give a water-circulation through the latter, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification, in the presence of two witnesses, this 11th day of January, 1887.

LEMAN O. HARTSOUGH.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. H. DORER, ALBERT E. LYNCH. 

